Water Conservation- Register Your Class For the Cal Water H2O Challenge

Start off the new year by registering your class for the Cal Water H2O Challenge! Registration for the Cal Water H2O Challenge ends on January 31, 2017.

Cal Water H2O Challenge is a project-based, environmentally-focused competition for classrooms, grades 4-6. Designed in conjunction with NAAEE, the WestEd K-12 Alliance, and Cal Water, and aligned with the Common Core State Standards and complimentary to the Next Generation Science Standards, Cal Water H2 O Challenge offers a unique opportunity for upper elementary teachers to facilitate their students’ learning of standards-based content, while developing the core understanding of environmental principles necessary to becoming science-literate citizens.

I am a 70’s child and it seems like that was the start of people conserving water. Well, at least in my mind because it was something my parents focused on in our household while I was growing up and I have applied some of those same ways to conserving water in my own home now.

Here are a few ways my family conserves water.

We do not wash clothes or use the dish washer before 5:00 p.m. or after 8:00 a.m.

We do not take long showers. I have always said 10-15 minutes is sufficient. Don’t get me wrong there is one person in the family that takes longer showers and it is a constant argument. Some of us have opted to take baths because that guarantees the water is not running too long.

We do not run the water while brushing our teeth or washing dishes. We turn it on as we need it.

We make sure the handle is down on the toilet and the water is not running.

We try to reduce water waste even when we are not in a drought.

There are so many unique ways to save water and this your opportunity to share with others by participating in the Cal Water H2O Challenge.

Cal Water H2O Challenge details:

The students of participating classrooms initiate, develop, and implement a 4-8 week-long project (or longer at teacher discretion), focusing on caring for water. This class-based project explores water as a global resource and as a local resource, while tackling a local water problem in an individual and community-based endeavor.

A handbook can be found in the resources section of challenge. calwater.com, including a guide for the flow of the project, and sample lesson plans.

Upon completion of the project, students create a final portfolio documenting their work. This portfolio, along with accompanying cover sheets, student reflections, and a teacher reflection, constitute the final submission. Submissions are due February 28, 2017.

Curriculum Alignment: Cal Water H2 O Challenge was designed in collaboration with the WestEd / K-12 Alliance to ensure an educationally sound curriculum that aligns with Common Core State Standards and is complementary to the Next Generation Science Standards. In aligning the curriculum, sample lesson plans were developed incorporating these guidelines.

Project-Based Learning: Developed with the help of the WestEd / K-12 Alliance and the North American Association for Environmental Education, the project-based learning model offers an effective and engaging manner to inspire students to get involved with community action while achieving curriculum standards.

Objective Rubric: Judging of the competition will be conducted by a panel of experts working in education and/or an environmental field and will use an objective rubric, developed with the help of the West Ed / K-12 Alliance. This rubric evaluates the water topic choice, project goals, action plan, and outcomes, long term benefits, integration with student learning and curriculum, student participation, impact on student learning, presentation, and impact on teacher practice.